The Importance Of Herbalism In The Caribbean

“From the bitterness of disease man learns the sweetness of health.” According to the Medical Dictionary of Health Professions and Nursing (Farlex 2012), health status refers to the level of health of an individual person, a group or a population as assessed by that individual or by objective measures. In previous years, one would live longer due to their good health status. Herbalism or herbal therapy has contributed to this in a variety of ways and has been practiced for thousands of years by people of all cultures globally.

Many Caribbean people believe that the Supreme Being created herbs for the healing of the nation. Perhaps this belief was passed down from African predecessors, who came to the Caribbean, which was passed to them by their ancestors. Africans utilized herbal therapy to doctor physical, mental and spiritual aspects of various sicknesses that afflicted people daily. This may be accountable for the tradition within the Caribbean community to use herbal medicines to attain and prolong general health and well being. As a child, growing up in the Caribbean, one would receive the advice from their grandmother to drink ‘bush’ tea because it’s good for you

An article in the Jamaica Observer written by Maureen Minto (2015) stated, “The bitter principles in herbs are fast acting and stimulate cleansing responses from the stomach. When our bodies have these medicinal compounds in excess, it excretes them through the kidneys, lungs, colon and skin, leaving us in total wellness of mind, body and soul,” (“Why I Choose Herbal Medicine”, para. 9). In agreement with this an article written by Healing Waters Clinic and Herbs Shop (“How Herbs Work,” 2010) mentions that herbs work three (3) ways in traditional herbalism; detoxification, regulation (balancing) and tonification (building). Through these three methods herbs are able to heal the whole body regardless of the nature of the